


Seven Years

by okemmelie



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Childhood Friends, F/M, I'm Bad At Summaries, That's how it is, but - Freeform, eleven counts as childhood friends no one can stop me, this is basically just a paulkins hogwarts fic because uhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 15:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22258165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okemmelie/pseuds/okemmelie
Summary: For seven years, Emma puts up with Paul. But it's alright, because Paul puts up with Emma too.
Relationships: Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 12
Kudos: 70





	Seven Years

**Author's Note:**

> my working title was "i am a fool" and i stand by this. anyway, prompt was a paulkins hogwarts au + childhood friends + “you know your book is upside down, right?” and here it is!!!! oh yeah here's a link to the post the prompt is from: https://helenmcwife.tumblr.com/post/190258531067/au-trope-prompt-game  
> also paul's a gryffindor, sry i don't make the rules /: . he's a brave lil boy and i love n support him

Paul turns 11 and something strange happens. Usually strange means bad, but today strange just means strange. Outside his window, there’s a bird. An owl, he’s pretty sure. It’s looking at him and he looks back.

What feels like a really long time passes and the owl doesn't look away, so Paul runs and gets his mom. He drags her to his room and to his window to show her the owl, but it’s gone when they get there. Baffled, Paul opens his window and looks around in an attempt to spot it.

He doesn’t see it, but what he does see is a letter. It’s strange. He lives on the upper floor, so how has a letter made its way to his window? He shows it to his mom and his day gets a whole lot stranger.

“But mom!” A girl around his age stomps on the ground. “Jane got a broom. How come I can’t get a broom?”

Paul looks in fascination as the girl’s mom explains to her that this Jane is three years older than her and didn’t get a broom until this year. It seems to catch the girl’s attention, because she narrows her eyes in his direction. As soon as he realizes that yeah, they definitely have eye contact right now, Paul turns around and starts walking towards the bookstore.

Her name is Emma. Paul meets her on the train and she remembers him from their brief almost encounter. She asks him lots of questions about what it’s like to be a ‘muggle’ and is even kind enough to explain to him what that term means.

Then she answers a lot of questions from Paul about the wizarding world and this place they’re going. Hogwarts.

Gryffindor. They’re both in Gryffindor. Paul appreciates having Emma around.

***

“Ugh.” Paul slumps down in his seat. “Why do they have to sing? I wish they didn’t have to sing.” He considers covering his ears but he knows Emma would just tease him about it.

Actually, nevermind. Emma doesn’t need him to cover his ears, she has enough motivation to tease him without him helping. “Aww, is someone scared of the choir? Does someone not like being welcomed back with a song? You’re a baby.”

“Am not!” Paul insists. “I just… I don’t like singing. It makes me very uncomfortable.”

Emma rolls her eyes at him and calls him a baby under her breath, but she takes his hand and it makes him feel a little better. Only a little though.

*******

There’s a lot of things Paul expects from life. For example, he expects a full night of rest –  _ especially  _ after just having arrived back at Hogwarts for his third year a few hours ago. However, Emma keeps telling him to expect the unexpected. “So really, it’s not my fault you didn’t expect me to break into your room in the middle of the night.”

“Okay, that’s cool and all, but can I please go back to sleep now? Please?” He tries to pout at her for extra points, but it’s not working and Emma ends up dragging him all the way out on the Quidditch field at way too early in the morning. Or late in the night, he’s not actually sure.

She brings something else, something that’s not just him or herself. It’s in a bag and she insists they play a guessing game as to what it is, but Paul’s tired and doesn’t have any guesses what so ever, so she gives him a hint: “Remember when we first met?”

“Yeah. We sat together on the Hogwarts Express and y–”

She cuts him off. “No, dummy. When we first saw each other. Like, we didn’t talk so it’s fair if you don’t remember, but I was with my mo–”

“It’s a broom!” He cuts her off this time, because he realizes what she’s trying to get at. “You finally got your own broom!”

She high fives him and they take turns flying around for a bit before Emma lets him go back to bed.

*******

On the first day of their fourth year at Hogwarts, their potions professor, Professor Hidgens, comes up with a totally fun idea that everyone in class loves: No one’s allowed to partner up with someone they’re already friends with.

Emma dramatically reaches out for Paul’s hand and holds onto it while slowly letting go as she walks away. Paul just looks at her in confusion and then goes join up with some guy from Slytherin who’s also been too slow to find a partner.

Gryffindor keeps losing points and sadly, there’s a reason for that. The reason is Emma and her inability to concentrate on potions during, well, potions class. Her partner, Charlotte, looks more and more stressed every single class that passes. As does Professor Hidgens.

On the nineteenth day of their fourth year at Hogwarts, Professor Hidgens pulls Paul aside after class. He also pulls Emma, Ted and Charlotte along.

“I want the best for my students and I’m afraid this is not working for me. You two.” He points at Emma and Ted. “Switch.”

On the twentieth day of their fourth year at Hogwarts, Emma and Paul are officially reunited in a potions class. Emma starts concentrating a bit more, she starts understanding a bit more because Paul's patient with her and they’re used to working together. Gryffindor stops losing points.

*******

“I do not get any of this,” Emma says out loud after they’ve been reading in silence for what feels like forever. “This is dumb. I’m just going to go in and do the exam without having studied for all of it. It’s fine.”

It’s getting late and he gets it. He’s about to suggest they just end their study session now and get back to it in the morning, when he notices something strange about Emma’s book. “You know your book is upside down, right?”

“You know your book is upside down, right?” She repeats back in a mocking tone. “Grow up, Paul.”

She doesn’t say anything more for a long while and she doesn’t bring up the idea of them going to bed, so he doesn’t either. He goes back to reading and tries his best not to laugh at her when he sees her turning the book around out of the corner of his eye.

*******

She catches it and Paul cheers along with the rest of the Gryffindor students. This means they win and it’s all on her. Well, it’s mostly all on her. In his heart, it’s all on her.

He goes down and congratulates her with a hug as soon as he gets the chance. She still hasn’t caught her breath and maybe he shouldn’t hug her so tightly, but who’s going to stop him? Her?

Something in Paul tells him to kiss her when they pull back a little bit, but he’s not going to be the asshole and let his feelings be what’s important. He knows how much this victory means for her, so he just says congratulations once more and tells her he’ll see her in the tower.

*******

Paul decides to get some reading done in advance while on the Hogwarts Express. They’re heading towards their very last year of school and it’s strange and exciting and he’s anything but happy that it’s about to be over.

However, someone doesn’t think reading sounds like fun and that someone is Emma. “Hey! Dumbass!”

There’s no way she’s not speaking to him, because she even makes sure to kick his shin lightly. He looks up from his book and nods. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“No offense, but there’s literally no way I’m starting my last year at Hogwarts like this.”

He raises his eyebrow in confusion. “Like what?”

“Like… this!” She points at them a few times with both of her fingers and it only makes Paul more confused. “Forget about it,” she says and does something that very much doesn’t make Paul forget about it.

She kisses him. She kisses him and Paul couldn’t be happier.


End file.
